Pneumatic gun.



J. A. PACKARD. PNEUMATIG GUN. APPLICATION FILED JAN.21, 1911.

Patented June 24, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. A. PACKARD.

PNEUMATIC GUN.

APPLICATION FILED mum, 1911.

Patented June 24, 1913' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

K JAMES A. PACKARD, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

PNEUMATIC GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 21, 1911.

Serial No. 803,820.

To all whom it'may concern 1 Be it known that I, JAMES A. PACKARD,acitizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county ofMilwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Pneumatic Guns, of

which the following is a specification.

It is a well lmown fact that a large number of severe accidents havebeen caused by the use of the ordinary pneumatic gun, owing to the factthat .as heretofore constructed, they are adapted to and have been usedfor projecting bird shot, gravel, etc., by which such accidents havebeen caused.

The object of my present invention is therefore to provide a pneumaticpop gun or pistol, which is adapted,-w1ien discharged to produce a loudreport resembling that of -ordinary fire arms, but witlrwhich it isimpossible to discharge a projectile.

My invention is further explained by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of thepreferred form thereof. Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the front portion ofthe barrel of a gun. Fig. 3 is an end view. Fig. 4: is a side view, partin section, of a modified form of gun, the stock and barrel of which arepivotally connected together in such a manner as to be turned at rightangles to each other for the purpose of operating the piston and othercooperative parts, and Fig. 5 is a device which is adapted to be used inconnection with an ordinary pneumatic gun or pistol for producing anexplosive sound.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughoutthe several views.

In the preferred form, the barrel 1 and stock 2 of the gun are rigidlyconnected together and the piston 3 is adapted to be operated by a lever4, which lever 4 is connected with saidpiston through an arm 5, pivotalconnections 6, link 7, and tubular member 8. ..The tubular member 8 isprovided with a longitudinal slot 9 for the reception of the front endof the link 7. It Wlll be understood that preparatory to op erating thegun, the lever 4 is thrown for-. wardly in the direction indicated bythe dot- 1 ted line 10, whereby the piston 3 is drawn rearwardly ortoward the stock of the gun, when the chamber 11 is filled with air. Asthe piston is drawn rearwardly, it is engaged by thecatch 12, whereby itis retained in its rearward position, preparatory to being released.

13 is a spiral spring, which is interposed between the piston 3 and theinward projecting flanges 14, whereby as the'piston is drawn rearwardly,said spring is compressed and put under tension preparatory to forcingthe piston forward as soon as the latter is released from the catch 12.The catch 12 is rigidly connected with the trigger 15,,

Patented June 24, 1913.

by which it is disengaged from the piston by drawing rearwardly thereon,said trigger and catch forming a bell crank lever, which is pivotallysupported from the barrel of the gun at its respective sides on the pin16.

17 is a stationary partition, which is provided with a central aperture,18, for the passage of air, said partition serving the two fold purposeof stopping the piston at the limit of its forward movement and also forconfining the escaping air to said central aperture.

19 is a spiral spring, which is interposed between an inclosing wall 20of the stock and the rear side of the catch 12, whereby said catch isforced upwardly into the posi-.

tion shown by the recoil of said spri g in' position to automaticallyengage the ront side of said piston as the same is drawn back,preparatory to discharging the gun.

The invention as thus far described, is in the main substantially likethat of the ordinary pneumatic gun, and my improvements pertain moreespecially to the device for holding a strip of paper 21 in front of thenozzle of the barrel of the gun or pistol, whereby the air is caused toescape with explosive force through. said paper, while it at the sametime is adapted to tear a round aperture in the paper, which is thusheld. My present invention also pertains further to the use of thescreen 22, located at the extreme front end of the barrel, whereby itbecomes impossible to insert shot or other projectiles in the gun,preparatory to discharging the same, together with the mechanism forholding said paper and for automatically operatlng the clampsby whichthe paper is held.

For convenience of operation, I preferably support along strip of paper21 upon a spool 23, and said spool 23 1s revolubl supported from thebarrel 1 by a pair of rackets 24, 24, and shaft 25, while the oppositeend of said strip of paper is preferably connected with the spool 26upon the opposite side of the barrel, and said spool 26 is revolibpurpose of revolving the spool 26 as the lubly supported ,from thebarrel 1 by the brackets 24 and spool supporting shafts 28.

Thus it will be understood that when one perforation has been producedin the paper, the strip of paper is drawn forwardly by turning the spool26 a partial revolution,

whereby a non-perforated portion of the paper is brought in front of thebarrel preparatory to being again acted upon. The barrel 1 is providedat its front end with a stationary collar 29 and a slidable 'collar 30,while a washer formed of rubber or other elastic material 31 isinterposed between said collars and serves as a packing, whereby as saidcollars are drawn forwardly together against the respective sides ofsaid strip of paper, a practical air tight joint is'formed against saidpaper, whereby the air is prevented from escaping and is compelled as itis forced forward,to pass through the paper with an explosive force,whereby the desired concussion is produced.

' The collar 29 is formed integrally with or rigidly afixed to the frontend of the barrel, while the collar 30 is slidably sup ported in frontof the barrel from the arms 32, 32, and "said arms are supported andguided at their front ends by the radial brackets 33, 33. The arms 32are connected with an operating lever, through a link 34 and pivotalmember 35, whereby as said arm 4. is drawn forwardly in the act ofdrawing back the piston, said slidable collar 30 is moved forwardly aslight distance from the stationar collar 29, preparatory to insertingthe strip of paper between said collars. Vfhen, however, said lever 4 isdrawn back to its rearward position, as indicated in Fig. 1, said collar30 is drawn rearwardly, and-the strip of paper 21 is securely clampedbetween said collar and the elastic packing 31,preparatory to being tornasunder by the explosive force of the escapmg air.

36 is a spiral spring, which is interposed strip of paper is drawnforwardly infront of the discharge end of the barrel.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 4, the piston 17 is connected withthe stock 2 of the gun by the pivotal bolt 6, link 7 and tubular member8, the rear end of said tubular member 8 being provided with alongitudinal slot 9 for the reception of the front end of said link, andsaid operating lever 4 and arm 5 shown in Fig. 1, are dispensed with. Itwill be understood that by the device shown in Fig. 4, the barrel 1 ofthe noeaeae gun is pivotally connected with the stock 2 by the pivotalbolt 40, whereby when desirous to operate the piston, as previouslydescribed, the stock 2 is turned on said pivotal bolt 40 at nearly rightangles to said barrel, whereby the piston 17 will be drawn back andengaged by the retaining book 12 as previously described. It will beunder stood that the retaining hook 12 is supported from the sides ofthe barrel by the pins 16 and that said hook is retained in the positionshown in Fig. 4, preparatory to engaging the piston as it is drawnrearwardly by the recoil of the spiral spring 19, said spring 19 beinginterposed between the rear side of said catch 12 and the wall 20,whereby said catch will be automatically caused to engage the piston assoon as it is drawn back by the action of the stock, and whereby saidpiston will be disengaged from said catch by drawing rearwardly upon thetrigger 15,

'which trigger 15 is formed integrally with the catch. The clampingmember 30 shown in Fig. 2, is slidably supported from the front. end ,ofthe barrel 1 in substantially the same manner as shown in Fig. 1 and aspreviously described, by the arms 32 and bracket 33, and said arms 32are connected at their rear ends with the stock 2 through the link 34and pivotal pin 35, whereby as the stock is drawn down at right anglesto the barrel, said slidable disk 30 will be moved forwardly preparatoryto inserting the strip of paper 21, and whereby as said stock 2 is drawnback to its normal position, as shown in Fig; 2, said strip of paperwill be again clamped between the slidable collar 30 and the elasticpacking 31, as previously described.

By the modified form shown in Fig. 5, the movable collar 30 is slidablysupported from the arms 32 in front of the stationary collar 29, and thestrip of paper is adapted to be clamped between said movable collar 30and the annular packing 31 through the action ofthe operating lever 45,said lever 45 being .pivotally supported from thebarrel 46 by the radiallugs 47, tubular member 47 and pivotal bolt 48, while the short arm ofsaid lever 45 is connected with said arms 32 by the central member 33and pivotal bolt 34. It will be understood that the device shown in 5 isadapted to be attached tov any of the various styles of pneumatic gunsor pistols heretofore made, and that the barrel 46 is therefore. ofordinary construction.

In operating the device shown in Fig. 5, a strip of paper is manuallplaced between the slidable collar 30' and t e annular packing 31, whensaid slidable collar 30' is drawn rearwardly against the front side ofthe paper by throwing the rear end of the lever 45 forwardly, wherebysaid paper is securely clamped 1n place and thus secured until the gunhas been discharged. When the gun has been discharged, the torn paper isreleased by bringing the lever 45 back to its normal. position, shown inFig. 5, preparatory to inserting another piece of paper.

49, 49 are anti-frictiombearings, over and upon which the strip of paper21 is adapted to pass as it is drawn from the spool 23 to the spool 26,and 50, 50, are guiding flanges located at a slight distance from saidanti-friction bearings 49 and cooperate with said bearings inguiding thepaper between the opposing surfaces of the clamping collars.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

In a device of the described class, the combination of a gun barrel, agun stock rigidly affixed to said barrel, means for clamping a piece ofpaper over and against the mouth of said barrel, a piston locatedin saidbarrel, a piston rod pivotally connected at one end to said piston, alever pivotally connected with the opposite end of said rod, andadditional means connected with said lever for simultaneously operatingsaid paper clamping device as said piston is operated, whereby as saidlever is moved in one direction, said clamping device will be opened forthe'reception of paper, and when moved in the opposite direction, saidclamping device will be closed against the paper. 7 In testimony whereofI affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. PACKARD. Witnesses:

JAs, B. ERwrN,

CHAS. M. JOHNSON.

